People Are People
by Lina Inverse the Dramata
Summary: Xellos and Filia songfic, Xellos questions why he and Filia even hate each other in the first place. To the song 'People are People' By Depeche Mode


People are People

People are People

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People are people so why should it be.

You and I should get along so awfully?

Xellos sat in a tree as the group gathered firewood, set up their sleeping rolls, and got out extra food. He wasn't really paying particular attention to the groups activities, his attention was mainly on his golden haired priestess. Of course he could tell she knew he was there. Her tail was brushing against the back of her skirt in agitation but she held a stern cold look that was trying to show she didn't care. Oh how amusing she was… He sighed and opened his eyes to look at her.

Why? Why did he constantly end up having to watch her from a distance? Though she may never believe it, he was a being too. They were all people… just different races. If Lina and Gourry could get along with him, why couldn't she accept his presence too?

Of course Zelgadis disliked him, but that was understandable. The demon part of him was a connection to the Mazoku world. And it gave Zelgadis a lust for blood and vengeance that he could control for the most part, but during battles… It was a reminder to Zelgadis that he was never truly human. Zelgadis hated Xellos because Xellos was what Zelgadis was afraid to become, and was fully capable of becoming. 

But Zelgadis at least didn't beat the ever livin' crap outta him whenever he appeared… Not that it hadn't crossed the chimera's mind… but at least he was able to suppress it. Filia on the other hand, she couldn't stand him being within a ten-foot radius. And being around her was actually something he wanted to be. 

But because of what he had done in the past, he was paying for it now in the present. Fate had a twisted way of connecting and doing things. It was his order. He had no choice. He had no desire to kill unless hungry or pissed off. Of course you know occasional boredom would bring round the idea of torture… but still. It was his nature to be like he was. Just like it was in her nature to be a stuck up dragon… So why couldn't they just get along, even if it was a little. Being able to stand near her would have been better then standing near her and getting beaten.

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So we're different colours,

And we're different creeds,

And different people have different needs.

So she was a Ryuzoku, and he a Mazoku. Simple as that. She believed in goodness, justness, and doing things for the best. Murder was wrong, pain needed to be healed, people need happiness and love. Well that was her belief, her life, and her race. But why did he have to be persecuted for what he lived for and did, when it was his belief and way of life? So he fed off of suffering, so he enjoyed an occasional murder, so he didn't truly help, and he had a habit of playing with people's lives. He still could feel, much to his disappointment. So he had this unusual tendency to want to have someone else's presence with him. So he wanted a companion. Yah, he could love… it just was different compared to her type of love.

So he had different needs and desires then her. But wasn't that the best? Opposites attract, and the different side can attract the other. Dark to light because the light is something the dark could never understand, and light to dark because it's never experienced something so final. But the dark had an odd habit of consuming and not returning what it took, while the light would reveal the truth on what it was shining upon. Ok so maybe it could be bad, but maybe it could be good…

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It's obvious you hate me,

Though I've done nothing wrong,

I never even met you,

So what could I have done?

He didn't quite understand why she had to hate him for destroying those golden dragons a thousand years ago. It was at LEAST eight hundred years before her birth! And it wasn't even any of her family necessarily… Just her race… and the dragons were raised to be protective of each other's clans. He sighed, how was he to have known that his actions would come back at him?

But what had he done to her to make her hate him this much? He hadn't killed her, hadn't hurt her, sure he teased her, but he enjoyed seeing her face change, he loved to see her reactions, it was so cute. He even left her be when she called him, 'Namagomi'. Most humans wouldn't have lived after saying that to him, and if they had they would have learned the painful way not to say it again. He even saved her life, even if he did drop her almost on Valgaav from an eight-foot drop. But he had only dropped her because he didn't want her to realize and become suspicious why he had saved her. And then he had thrown in the lame excuse of just trying to surprise Valgaav.

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I can't understand,

What makes a man,

Hate another man.

Help me understand…

Just because he was a Mazoku. And because he was 'evil'. Well if to good anything that wasn't good should be destroyed, why didn't they realize evil beings could think too? And in the eyes of evil, good went against everything they believed in, shouldn't then the good be destroyed?

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People are people so why should it be

You and I should get along so awfully

Help me understand.

It's not like he hated her, he just had the odd reaction of wanting to pester her, while trying to befriend her.

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Now you're punching and you're kicking,

And you're shouting at me,

Filia had gone picking up brambles of wood while making her way to the small sound of running water. She wanted to wash off the dust from the road and take a long cool drink, and gathering the firewood was a good excuse.

She removed everything but her dress and placed it off to the side with the bundle of stick. The water flowed by in the semi-deep creek and she lowered her bare hands into the cool water to take a drink when she sensed someone watching her. She stood up and grabbed her mace from beneath her skirt looking for the offender. As she turned to her left she saw Xellos leaning against a tree, staff and cape gone, his eyes were open and he was watching her silently.

Filia hesitated for a moment in startlement as she saw this and didn't look into his eyes for more then a second before her anger kicked in.

"You dirty hentai!" she then started to pummel him with her mace, adding a few kicks in too.

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I'm relying on your common decency.

So far it hasn't surfaced,

Xellos winced as he tried to actually stop her from connecting more blows. Why couldn't she try to sort things out reasonably? Her mace swung at him and he teleported behind her as she stumbled forward. She spun around and he grabbed her mace's handle and yanked it away from her with surprising strength and tossed it into the creek in the same motion.

Her other hand came flying at his face and he caught that one too, and yanking her to the ground he pinned her down with his body to keep her from causing more damage. 

"FILIA! Stop this now! I'll let you go if you'll stop trying to kill me!" he said sternly.

Filia glared murderously up to him and he could feel the hate radiating out towards him in waves. "Get off of me you filthy Mazoku." She gritted out.

His eyes narrowed and he stood up, her wrists still in his hands, and brought her to her feet harshly, resisting the tempting urge to slap her into reason. He pushed her against a tree, his hands gripping her wrists tightly and pushed them up against her chest to pin her there by his strength.

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But I'm sure it exists.

It just takes a while to travel,

From your head to your fist.

"If you had been any other person Filia, I would have slapped you for what you just said to me." He said this slowly and seriously, wanting to see her squirm. She had angered him just a little too far.

Filia winced and looked up to him wanting to glare but found anger was only second on her list of how she was feeling. The most dominant feeling was fear. She saw his cool amethyst eyes glaring at her, cold, yet with a fire of anger.

"You do realize what and who you're messing with don't you? A Mazoku." He spat out with hate. "You should know. You've said it enough times. Why the hell do I get beaten whenever you get pissed? If you actually knew what and who I truly was you wouldn't be near me at all. Yet you do something I've not allowed ANYONE to do besides Lina. Beat and insult me. I've been patient and very, very understanding so far. Why do you have to hate me?" he growled out the last part.

"Y-you killed my people- - you were willing to betray us-" she stuttered out, she desperately wanted to escape his grasp but as strong as she was he was three fold her strength.

"But I saved your life. I also kept from killing you." 

"So? It was only because you were using us!" she returned squirming her wrists to escape him, "Let me go you-" she cut herself off as his grip tightened, even after it seemed like it couldn't. She let out a small cry that made him loosen it considerably, but not enough. 

"You what? Filthy Mazoku? Namagomi? Say it. You know you want to." 

Why was Xellos doing this? Filia forced herself to look into his eyes and she could still see the anger clearly etched on his face. "No-- Kudasi… let me go, your hurting me-" she finally gave in, scared and hurting.

Xellos' eyes softened and he loosened his grip on her wrists, pulling them from her and pulling her gently away from the tree which had been digging into her back. She stumbled forward, weak from relief and he caught her, and then picked her up to her surprise, taking her over to the water side and he sat down with her, keeping her cradled in his arms. 

Her mind reeled. What on earth was going on? One moment he was shoving her against a tree, ready to hit her, the next he was holding her like a child, or something precious- She cut that thought off. Mazoku didn't have feelings like that. Who was she trying to fool?

"Filia-chan, I'm sorry I hurt you… It's just that I haven't been myself lately…" he stated honestly, yet softly. He took her hand and out stretched it, pouring cool water over her wrists. She let in a small hiss as she felt it hit her warmed skin, the bruises already surfacing on them. "You have such delicate skin… I keep forgetting that you can be hurt. Just like me." He said the ending way too softly.

Ok, now would be a good time to stop the hallucinations… Filia stared at Xellos like he had grown another head. "Who are you and what have you done with Xellos?"

He let out a small laugh and brushed her hair out of her face. "Can't I just be what I want to be without explanation?" he asked.

"And what is it you want to be?" she looked at him warily but half curious.

"Hopefully… someone who can talk to you… and maybe if in a hundred years we haven't killed each other, something more." He stated, his hand left her hair behind her ear to fall to her face, trailing down his hand to her cheek. Filia fought the strange desire to just close her eyes at his touch and steeled herself back to what she thought to be reality.

"You must be joking! I knew you liked messing with peoples minds but-- this is a step too far!" She moved in his arms and was brought back to the ground as she fought to stand up. "Let me go Xellos! You've had your laugh!"

"I didn't want a laugh, I want--" he cut himself as he almost said, 'you', and corrected himself quickly, especially when he felt Filia draw in a breath in almost fear. "- to stop this war between us."

Filia let out her breath slowly, her face flushed from the heat that had made it's way there for some unknown reason. "What's the catch? What do you want?" she questioned him further, hoping that he'd just stop the whole charade if he got annoyed enough.

"There isn't ANY! We only hate each other because it's how you were raised, and what I was taught! But I don't want that-- And I don't know why."

"It won't work. We -- our people--" she fought out her words but came up with nothing.

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I can't understand,

What makes a man,

Hate another man,

"I am not asking for you to sell your body to me, or give into evil, I'm asking you to try and do what no one has ever been willing to try… Maybe we can stop destroying each other for now… I admit Mazoku and Ryuzoku will never work and stay side by side forever… but maybe we can-"

"Your asking to be my friend?" she asked carefully. "To find out why we hate each other and hopefully stay friends?"

"Nothing more, nothing less. It's just I want to know WHY… Maybe if we could figure out why…" He nodded and she turned her head upwards towards his to look into his open eyes, evaluating him carefully. "Friends?"

"We'll see… I'll stop being a baka if you will." She smiled slightly as he pouted.

"You jest! Me be a baka? Never…" he winked at her and stood up, helping her to her feet as well.

"Yes you." She then leaned up and kissed his lips briefly and pulled back much to Xellos' shock. He stood there. Eyes wide, mouth slightly open.

"You look like a fish that just came out of water." She giggled.

Xellos blinked and closed his mouth indignantly. 

"Now get going, I've still got to wash up. I'll see you at the camp." She turned around to the water and he watched her quietly and without disturbing so much as a blade of grass, teleported away. 

Xellos teleported into the camp and he saw Lina, Gourry, and Amelia playing rock, scissors, paper and to his amusement Gourry was winning. He sat on a log and watched as Zelgadis made sure the groups dinner would cook properly.

"Is it stew?" he asked cheerfully.

"Yep just finished--" he muttered. He didn't want to alert the three food hogs. "If Filia doesn't want to starve she should be here by now…"

"Oh don't worry about her--" Xellos grabbed one of the wooden bowls and put some of the stew into it and grabbed a spoon. "Fi-chan won't go hungry. We'll save this for her." Zelgadis stared at Xellos like he had grown Oni horns and was dancing in a pink tutu. "What?!?" he asked indignantly.

"YOU… getting FILIA some food to eat… are you planning on poisoning her?" he scooped up his own bowl and pulled back just in time as the three hungry people dived at the defenseless pot.

"Oh of course not—oh Filia! Welcome back! I saved you some dinner!" he smiled cheerfully behind Zelgadis and he turned to see Filia in her dress and boots, the rest of her belongings in her arms.

"Oh thanks Xellos." She sat down next to Xellos and took the bowl and began to eat it. "This is delicious, did you cook this Mr. Zelga--" she looked up to Zelgadis to see he, Gourry, Amelia, and Lina were staring at her and Xellos the same way Zelgadis had been looking at Xellos a moment ago.

Lina's food slowly fell off her spoon, her mouth wide open in mid bite. "Wh--Are you two feeling alright?"

"Oh Mr. Xellos and Miss Filia must finally be seeing that two races can get along side by side! And that true goodness can conquer darkness!" Xellos sweat dropped as Amelia gave them a thumbs up.

"Uhh--- YAH…" Zelgadis muttered as he shook his head. 

Xellos smiled, "Is it so odd that I save her something to eat?"

"YES." Came the reply from four people.

"I am cut to the quick! I would never harm my Fi-chan!" he said with a smile. "Well duty calls I'll be back later! Ciao!" he then teleported away.

"I've seen everything." Lina stated bewildered. She then shrugged and wrestled the pot from Gourry, "HEY THAT'S MINE!"

Filia giggled to herself and then went back to her meal. Life could be good… 

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Help me understand.


End file.
